Katherine Wants the Best Kitchen Countertops

The premise behind the wildly popular social media platform @KatherineWants, founded by Katherine and Randy Feltis, is that whatever Katherine wants, Randy cooks for her. Sounds amazing. Especially since Randy is an award-winning chef and the idea of being married to an obliging personal chef is fantasy fuel for anyone who finds themselves regularly wondering what to make for dinner. But satisfying Katherine’s “wants” has gone beyond feeding her to ensuring her meals are prepped, served, and filmed for hundreds of thousands of online followers in a kitchen with the very best countertop material, Cambria natural quartz surfaces, of course.

Katherine and Randy’s kitchen chronicles began early in their relationship, and so did their mutual love of Cambria, although that began in the bathroom. So, we’ll go back to the beginning. Serial renovations, starting with an en suite, began once the couple decided to make their “together home” in what was originally Randy’s house. “And when you’re doing forever, you have to choose the best,” says Katherine. “That’s why we’re with Cambria.”

The couple’s renovated bathroom is a showstopper with a floating vanity and shower completely clad in Cambria quartz surfaces. The couple worked with a designer but say choosing Cambria was a “no-brainer” because the stone is so beautiful. Katherine says, “I never in my wildest dreams thought I could have a vanity that was cladded in stone. I still feel like royalty every time I go in there.”

The couple was so impressed with Cambria’s beauty and quality, they selected it for the bar area in a chic eatery they opened together called the Salty Blonde Bagel Bar. “I’ve been in restaurants for 30 years,” says Randy. “What you learn as a restaurateur is that when you buy something that isn’t the best, you’re going to buy it again sooner than you anticipated.”

“The bar at Salty Blonde is the focal point, the first thing you see when you walk in, and the Inverness Gold™ Cambria design is kind of cool because it’s also got texture.”

“And it gets beat up every single day and there is never a stain on it. We’re talking about espresso and red wine. Cambria stands the test of time.”

That lesson of longevity was reinforced back at the house where creating and cooking recipes for their social media followers has become a full-time gig for the Feltises.

“I’m a detail person,” says Katherine who notes their home kitchen is ground zero for their business. “It’s our office, it’s where we film all of our videos,” says Katherine. And their previous quartz countertops from a different manufacturer were not holding up. They were stained and chipped and not looking good on camera.

She says, “If you left a beet on those countertops for five seconds, you’d have a stain to deal with for the rest of the shoot. We knew with Cambria, we wouldn’t have to deal with that.”

So off to a Cambria showroom they went to select a new countertop and backsplash design for their kitchen. Katherine says, “For me, [choosing involves] a lot of touch and feel. So the showroom is important.” When asked how they settled on their preferred Cambria design, Katherine says, “It was a tough choice and I love them all. They’re all like beautiful pieces of art.” And although Randy joked about wanting something that looked “old school Italian with aggressive black veins,” we already know Katherine gets what Katherine wants, and she wanted Cambria’s Claremont quartz design in a matte finish.

She says, “We wanted to stick with something that’s not too distracting from the food but still has that beautiful, natural veining and really nice tones that work with the wood and the other features already in our home. And we love the touch and feel of Cambria’s matte finish, because what we had before looked plastic to me.” Randy shares her excitement over Cambria’s matte finish. He says, “The new matte finish won’t have that glare from the lighting,” when recording cooking videos.

When asked how they felt about the unparalleled service Cambria offers, Katherine says, “I have called customer service and somebody answers the phone in less than 30 seconds. It’s wild! I’ve never had a customer service experience like that, and I didn’t have to press 1,2,3 anything. Somebody just answered. I don’t anticipate needing to call again, but I know if something happens, that’s the kind of service I’m getting.”

We wrapped up our conversation with Randy and Katherine by asking them what are the top three things Katherine wants from her kitchen countertops. Katherine says, “Aesthetic. They have to be beautiful; durability, because we are a busy household and Randy is a chef. Things get banged. Things get messy; and cleanliness.” 

Randy nodded in agreement, “Katherine loses her mind when she sees a stain. She can’t sleep at night. That’s why the other stone needed to go and we needed Cambria.”